Eriskay Pony

On the remote Hebridean Islands of Scotland, a small population of native white Ponies survived the centuries without too much interference. They are not technically wild, but they roam free on the mountains of the islands in summer, and in the village in winter. In the late 1960s a group of people realised that there were only a handful ponies left on the island of Eriskay and started a programme to keep the breed alive. The population today is still critically endangered and there are maybe 100 Eriskay Ponies on the islands and another 200 on the mainland.

I was fortunate enough to visit the ponies on their island for my Forgotten Horses project and spend time with them on the mountain. The island is very small and exposed to the elements, but the ponies have adapted to it very well.